University
of Colorado Student Union
Legislative
Council
June 4,
2009 71LCB#2
Sponsored by: Daniel
Ramos Tri-Executive
Christine
Thai Tri-Executive
Alyssa
Bamonti Rep-at-Large
Nate
Burns Rep-at-Large
Joanna
Baca Rep-at-Large
Stephanie
Yoon Rep-at-Large
Authored by: Daniel Omasta UCSU Sustainability
Director
Daniel Ramos Tri-Executive
Isabel Guerra UMC
Board Chair Carlos
Garcia UMC Director
A Bill to Create a Fee to Fund the Renovation of
the UMC Food Service
Bill History
The University Memorial Center (UMC) programs,
facilities and services provide students and the University community with a
wide-range of out-of-the classroom activities and opportunities. The UMC also
offers space for students to meet, organize and present programs that satisfy
their common interests. The UMC is intended to be the "living
room" of the University and serve as its primary gathering
place. In short, the UMC and its programs and services provide the
venue for these wide-ranging activities.
The UMC Food Service is a major component of the UMC programs and services.
The UMC Food Service has not received any
significant renovation since 1986 when the area was renovated into its current
configuration. Since that time, the student body has grown from 23,000
students to almost 30,000 students.
In fall 2004, the UMC began to study the
feasibility of a major renovation to the UMC Food Service. In February of 2005, UCSU passed 62LCB#4
authorizing funding to pursue a renovation via a feasibility study, market
analysis, and program plan. The feasibility
study and market analysis were completed in August 2005 and November 2005. After going through the necessary campus
approval process such as BCPC, and CEC, it was determined at the Chancellor’s
Executive Committee in November 2005 that even though UCSU had agreed to
consider fully funding the renovation, the feasibility study was not acceptable
due to its sole reliance on student fees as a means of paying for the proposed
renovation. At that time the renovation
was estimated at $15,000,000. The CEC
also asked the UMC to do program plan level analysis without actually
authorizing the UMC to do a program plan, and conduct an analysis on whether
having the UMC Food Service remain a self-operated UCSU managed enterprise was
in the best interest of students or whether contracting the operation out to a
private food vendor, or developing a landlord-tenant environment (like the food
court at Flatirons mall) would be more beneficial to students.
The UMC then began to investigate the questions
posed by CEC. After months of review and
the use of outside consultants, the UMC presented its findings to the
University Administration in July 2006.
The Administration wanted to get UCSU opinion on the findings. In October 2006 UCSU passed 65EO#1 forming a
Food Service Commission to study the information the UMC had compiled and make
a recommendation to UCSU on whether to remain self-operated or privatize its
UMC Food Service.
After reviewing all of the options (remaining
self-op and fund a major renovation, contracting the food service to a single
private food provider like Marriott, Aramark, or Chartwells), creating a
landlord-tenant environment, establishing an intra-agency contract to have CU
Housing and Dining Services operate the UMC Food Services, or propose a less
extensive and less expensive renovation, the Food Service Commission
recommended to UCSU to remain self-operated (maximizing student involvement in
its cost center) and investigating the feasibility of a smaller and less
expensive renovation.
Thus in November 2007 UCSU passed 68LCB#3 creating
a Food Service Feasibility Committee to develop a concept paper and a
feasibility study for a scaled down renovation of the UMC Food Services. The Concept paper was completed in March
2008, and the Feasibility Study was completed in April 2008 and both were
approved by the UMC Board in May 2008 (Revised in November 2008). A Business Plan addendum to the Feasibility
Study for a $2,000,000 renovation project was finalized in January 2009
(Revised May 2009).
Project goals are (see Feasibility Study for more
detailed information):
·
An overarching goal of
creating a more environmentally sustainable food operation.
1.
Develop ways to open up the
front-of-the house service space to make offerings more visible
2.
Improve customer traffic
flow to increase operational efficiency
3.
Improve dining room seating
efficiency to maximize seating availability
4.
Improve the overall
ambiance of the AP Grill and dining seating areas
5.
Reconfigure Baby Doe’s and
establish a unique identity for it.
Project timeline (revised estimate):
·
Acquire UCSU approval for
project funding – June 2009
·
Acquire CU administration
approval – July 2009
·
Architect and design team
selection – September 2009
·
Begin design phase –
October 2009
·
Begin construction phase –
mid-March 2010
·
Complete project –
September 2010
Basic funding model (see Business Plan for complete
information):
·
Cost of Project – $2,000,000
·
Paid for by UMC Reserves – $600,000
·
Amount borrowed for 5 years –
$1,400,000
·
Annual Loan Payment based on 4%
interest plus GAR – $312,179
·
Less paid annually by new Food
Service revenues – $50,000
·
Amount paid annually by Student Fees
– $262,179
·
Per student per semester student fee
– $4.68 (not to exceed $5.00)
Bill Summary
This bill authorizes the implementation of a $5.00 per
student per semester fee (maximum) for the funding of the University Memorial
Center Food Service renovation to begin Fall 2010 for a maximum of 5 years to
be used to repay the loan.
THEREFORE BE IT ENACTED:
SECTION
1: The
Legislative Council and Executives of the University of Colorado Student Union do
hereby establish a fee for the renovation of the University Memorial Center
Food Service in the amount not to exceed $5.00 per student per semester and not
to exceed 5 years. The fee shall be
implemented Fall 2010).
SECTION 2: The UCSU will guarantee full payment of the
annual loan repayment amount in the event that the UMC Food Service is unable
to generate the necessary net revenues to pay for its portion of the annual
loan payment in a given year (as required by the Sr. Vice Chancellor for Budget
Planning & Analysis, and the University Controller when future revenues are
pledged towards repayment of a loan).
SECTION 3: All stages of the renovation process will
closely adhere to the sustainable and social purchasing and construction
guidelines set forth by UCSU (including 61LCB#10, LEED standards, and the CU
Environmental Center).
Furthermore, to extend
the UMC’s commitment to environmental and social stewardship, this renovation
will also be coupled with efforts to:
divert more
waste from the landfill through increases in pre and postconsumer
composting and recycling;
reduce
energy and water use with the installation of more
efficient technologies;
minimize
CO2 and GWP emissions by crafting purchasing standards
around Energy Star and other environmental ratings;
increase
health and nutrition by pursuing more opportunities to
use local and organic food;
and
expand educational outreach to students and customers regarding
the environmental impacts related to food, as well as, make opportunities such
as recycling and composting more readily available in order to reduce the
individual and campus ecological footprint.
SECTION 4: The UMC will return and present the final
design to UCSU Legislative Council for review and approval before proceeding to
the construction phase.
SECTION 5: This bill shall take effect upon passage by
the Legislative Council and upon either obtaining the signatures of two
Tri-Executives or the elapse of six days without action by the Tri-Executives.
Vote Count
6/4/09 Passed 14-0-0
6/18/09 Passed 9-2-2
____________________________ ______________________________
Blaine Pellicore Daniel
Ramos
UCSU Legislative Council
President
Tri-Executive
_________________________________
_______________________________
Thomas Higginbotham Christine
Thai
Tri-Executive Tri-Executive